Conglomerate (2024)

FAQs

What is a conglomerate in a business? ›

Conglomerates are large parent companies made up of smaller independent entities that may operate across multiple industries. Each of a conglomerate's subsidiary businesses runs independently of the other business divisions; but, the subsidiaries' managers report to the senior management of the parent company.

Examples of conglomerates are Berkshire Hathaway, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta (formerly Facebook), Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Diageo, Johnson & Johnson, and Warner Media. All of these companies own many subsidiaries.

a very large company consisting of several smaller companies or divisions that supply varied products or services.

Mumbai-based Reliance Industries is the largest conglomerate in the world. Since 1960, Dhirubhai Ambani's firm has become India's biggest by market value. It has a market worth of $228 billion in 2022. The corporation operates in energy, petrochemicals, textiles, natural resources, retail, and telecommunications.

Usually, conglomerates are different independent businesses that make up a corporation; this is not a word associated with Apple. Apple has dominated the marketplace with its ingenious development strategies for its products.

The streaming giant is getting its feet wet in opening its own permanent in-person locations. Netflix has decided to switch lanes and try something new. The media conglomerate is giving its customers the opportunity to purchase items in physical stores that are based off of its most popular shows.

A subsidiary is a company that is owned by another company. Corporations may or may not have subsidiaries. To become a conglomerate, a company must first register as a corporation. Conglomerates can be an S-Corp, C-Corp, or a Limited Liability Company, or LLC.

Brad Stone: “Amazon … is almost a conglomerate, but unlike a Berkshire Hathaway or a General Electric, all the components are interlocked. There are very subtle connections between them.

Because the businesses within a pure conglomerate all serve significantly different markets, they don't have any competition. The parent company primarily benefits from the diversification that the new purchases provide by spreading its income generation across multiple industries and forming collaborative agreements.

Who is the owner of a conglomerate? ›

A conglomerate is a combination of multiple business entities operating in entirely different industries under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries.

However, the management teams of the various businesses report into the parent company's senior management. Conglomerates exist throughout the world in various industries, including food, retail, manufacturing, and media.

The downside to a conglomerate merger can result in loss of efficiency, clashing of cultures, and a shift away from the core businesses. Opponents of conglomerate mergers believe that they can lead to a lack of market efficiency when large companies consolidate the industry by acquiring smaller firms.

Conglomerates are usually defined as a multi-industry company, and they've invariably become multi-industry through acquisitions. Some of the biggest conglomerates in the world are now the companies that come up in everyday conversation: Mars, P&G, Nestle, Philips, General Electric and more.

Conglomerate can also be used as a verb — like when your media companies conglomerated successfully. Definitions of conglomerate (/kənˈglɒməˌreɪt/) verb. collect or gather. synonyms: accumulate, amass, cumulate, gather, pile up.

Conglomerate is a sedimentary rock made of rounded pebbles and sand that is usually held together (cemented) by silica, calcite or iron oxide. It is a stone similar to sandstone but the rock particles are rounded or angular gravel rather than sand.

If the sedimentary rocks are found downstream of flowing water and appear clumped with rock clasts filled in between by a matrix made of sand or mud, they are identified as conglomerate rocks.

1) Saudi Aramco – $247.43 Billion

In 2023, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil giant, raked in the highest net revenue globally, scoring profits of over 247 billion U.S. dollars. Led by its current CEO Amin H. Nasser, this company, which started in 1933, thrives in the oil and gas industry.

Reliance Industries topped the 2023 ranking of the conglomerates with the highest market value worldwide. The conglomerate beat out major players such as Danaher, Honeywell International, 3M, Raytheon Technologies, and Siemens.

What is the largest conglomerate in the United States? ›

Examples by country. In the 2023 Forbes Global 2000 list, Comcast is the United States' largest media conglomerate, in terms of revenue, with The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros.

Valued at over $3 trillion, Apple is the largest company in the world by market capitalization as of December 2023. Samsung, with a market cap of over $374 billion, is another global powerhouse. The company makes up over a fifth of South Korea's GDP. The bulk of Apple's sales is from its iPhones.

Over the years Amazon has evolved from an online book store to an e-commerce giant and finally into a global conglomerate with business interests spanning an array of industries.

Conglomerates are usually defined as a multi-industry company, and they've invariably become multi-industry through acquisitions. Some of the biggest conglomerates in the world are now the companies that come up in everyday conversation: Mars, P&G, Nestle, Philips, General Electric and more.

Conglomerate has a variable hardness, and it often looks like concrete. It is usually found in mostly thick, crudely stratified layers. Beds of conglomerate are often underground reservoirs of water and petroleum.